Dear Lifehacker,
I just signed a lease on a new apartment, and it turns out my downstairs neighbors are multi-pack-a-day smokers. This means the smell wafts up through the floor almost all the time. I've cleaned the place from top-to-bottom and tried to seal off any drafts from below, but it's still awful. What else can I do?
Kind Regards,
Sad with Smoke

Dear Sad with Smoke,
We feel your pain. It's really annoying when you're a non-smoker or a light smoker and your neighbor downstairs in an old or drafty apartment building won't hesitate to burn through several packs every day. Luckily, you have options.

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Deodorize the Carpets

You may have covered this in your top-to-bottom cleaning, but a lot of the smell may be in or coming from the carpets. It won't change the smoke coming into the apartment from the neighbors' downstairs, but if that's the direction its coming from, you'd be surprised how much is probably trapped in there. Sprinkle some baking soda down on the carpet and grind it in a little bit. Leave it there while you move from room to room, doing the same thing in every room. Let the baking soda rest for a few minutes, and then break out the vacuum cleaner.

Start in the first room that you put baking soda down in, and just vacuum the floors as normal. With luck, you'll bring up not just the baking soda you sprinkled on the floors, but some of the nasty smoke smell that may be trapped in the carpet as well. Then spray down the carpets with a little Febreeze or other similar odor-removing fabric spray.

If that doesn't work, you may need to take the carpet cleaning to the next level and actually rent a carpet cleaner or shampooer (most grocery stores have them available to rent by the day,) move your furniture out of the way, and attack your carpets to get that nasty smell out. Photo by Kai Schreiber.

Break Out the White Vinegar

Vinegar smells pretty strongly on its own, but cigarette smoke—especially old, stale cigarette smoke—smells much worse. So if you don't mind your apartment smelling like a salad for a little while, pour some small bowls of white vinegar and let them sit in the worst-smelling rooms of the apartment for a while. Lightly soak a paper towel or rag with white vinegar, and rub down your upholstery if it's gotten into your furniture, and rub down the walls as well—if your neighbors have been there longer than you have, the smell is likely in the walls, too.

The smell of vinegar should dissipate in a few minutes—less if you throw open the windows while you do this. If you really can't stand the smell of vinegar, mix in a little essential oil, like lavender or vanilla, which will hopefully stick around after the smell of vinegar—and cigarette smoke—have faded away.

Change Your Air Filters

Again, while this won't stem the tide of smoke rising from the apartment below, it may help your apartment's air conditioner or heater better handle the smoke that does make its way in. Check your air filter, and if the filter is old, replace it. Most air filters should be replaced every three to six months, but you may want to swap yours out a bit more often. Also, consider a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter or other high-efficiency filter. They may need to be changed more frequently, but they'll also pull out more of the dust, dirt, and smoke that may be hanging in the air in your home. Photo by Joshua Marks.

Use Activated Charcoal

Baking soda can do a good job at small odors, and can really help lift the smoke smell out of your carpet if you use enough of it, but if you're ready to use the big guns, it's time to invest in some powdered activated charcoal. You can usually get it at pet stores (where its often used in aquarium filters,) health food stores (where it's become something of a fad,) or large department stores. Pour a little activated charcoal into a few small bowls and put them around your apartment. Leave them in place for a few days: they should slowly but surely start to absorb the odors.

Additionally, if you see any other odor control product with activated charcoal in it, like kitty litter or carpet powder, it'll probably do a decent job of taming the cigarette smell coming from your neighbors downstairs. If you can find kitty litter with charcoal in it, it may be cheaper to put that around your apartment (assuming you don't have a cat!) than buying large containers of activated charcoal alone, so give that a try.

Buy an Air Purifier

Your mileage may vary here, but a good air purifier can make a big difference. Make sure to buy one appropriately sized for your space (for example, you may want a larger unit if you live in a studio apartment, while a small bedside model will do well for a single room) and that you get a HEPA filter to scrub out the smoke and dust in the air.

Just Talk to Them

Finally, all the regular cleaning and scrubbing and air filters in the world won't help if you don't do something about the source of the problem. If you intend to stay for the duration of your lease, you may want to drop by your neighbors downstairs and introduce yourself. Let them know that the building is pretty drafty (something they likely already know) and let them know that their cigarette smoke comes up through the floors into your apartment above. Don't walk into the conversation with an assumption of how it's going to go: they may blow you off and indicate they could care less how their smoking affects you, but they may be willing to listen, and they may be understanding to your plight.

Don't expect them to start smoking outdoors from now on, but suggest they keep it to one room, or crack a window when they smoke instead of leaving them all shut. Maybe offer to give them the air purifier to keep the smell down. You never know, they may be sympathetic, and you may even make a new friend in your new building.

We hope we've offered up some suggestions to help you freshen up your apartment. It can be pretty rough living directly over a chronic smoker, especially when your building is old, drafty, and isn't doing you any favors in keeping the smell from drifting among units. With a little luck, some elbow grease, and hopefully minimal investment, you can keep your apartment smelling fresh and clean. Good luck!

Love,
Lifehacker

PS - Have you shared an apartment or apartment building with a smoker? Are you a smoker yourself? What are some of your tips to keep your home smelling fresh and free of set-in cigarette smoke? Share your suggestions in the comments below.